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G2 Af problems

K

klemcg

Hi!
I have shot a roll of newspaper attached against wall testing AF of G2 with 28,45,90 all fully open (on a tripod of-course). Neither of shots very accurately in focus. Best performer was 90, when 28 and 45 were disastrous (not even close of being in focus). G2 and each lens were bought separately and never calibrated. Did anybody have similar problems? Would sending the camera and the lenses to Kyocera help?
 
Calibrated? You don't "calibrate" the lenses and the camera together, there isn't any need.

How far was the paper from the camera, and DID YOU CHECK manual focus or the distance readout in the G2 displays and see whether they correlated to an actual physical measurement with a tape?

Did you try a higher contast image that a newspaper? What was the F-stop used?

-Dana

"Posted by klemen gabrijelcic on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 7:56 pm:

Hi! I have shot a roll of newspaper attached against wall testing AF of G2 with 28,45,90 all fully open (on a tripod of-course). Neither of shots very accurately in focus. Best performer was 90, when 28 and 45 were disastrous (not even close of being in focus). G2 and each lens were bought separately and never calibrated. Did anybody have similar problems? Would sending the camera and the lenses to Kyocera help?"
 
> Calibrated? You don't "calibrate" the lenses and the camera together, there isn't any need

I am not sure that is true. My N1 AF with 24-85 was performing better after calibration.

I took shots from about 0.6m, 2.5m and 5 m. I did not check the distance with a tape, but the distance readings from the camera were always the same. The newspaper was actually a magazine with large black and white rectangular shapes.
 
Check the distance with the tape and see if it agrees with the digital display.

"I did not check the distance with a tape, but the distance readings from the camera were always the same."
 
> I had this problem with my G-1 and sent it to Contax and they repaired it. They only needed one lens.

Tests I ran: I put a yardstick on a upside garbage can and cereal box with detailed printing on it at the 18 inch point. Yardstick was running away from the camera which was placed on a tripod at 2.5 meters from the 18 inch focus point. I then exposed wide open, mid and smallest aperture. I found the range finder would focus correctly but the lens would move (change focus) when I pushed the shutter. I did this for all lenses. Both for AF and manual. Obviously the worse case was at wide open aperture where DOF is most critical. Fortunately I had a USA warrenty and the camera was fixed at no charge.

I repeated this test with my G-2 and found focusing is perfect (except the 90mm focuses an inch closer than aim at 5 feet. Big deal.) But the reason I got the G-2 was to improve the focus uncertainty issues I was having with th G-1. I use my G-2 mostly in manual mode because I use the camera more like a view camera. Always on a tripod and frequently focusing on some completely apart from the center.

Dave
 
I remember sometimes ago a member posted a site describe in great details why all AF cameras, including F5 and EOS1 as tested, are not as accurate as true MF camera.

klemen, did you send in both the N1 body and lens to have Contax to "calibrate"? If it did fix the AF problem in N1, it would not be a bad idea to send in your G2 system to do the same.
 
Help, I just shot my first roll with my new G2 and I was underwelmed. The pictures are worst than my wife's Leica minilux zoom point and shoot. After reading all of your posts about the zeiss lense quality I can only surmise that I am doing something wrong. The people in the pictures are simply not in focus and in some case are blurry. The indoor flash shots are either over or under exposed. I have been using a Nikon f100 previously and selected the Contax over a Leica M7 I hope I did not make a mistake. I would appreciate any helpful suggestions. I read all of your posts and thats what helped me make the Contax Leica decision. Thank You in advance.
 
Although I am also new to the G system, I can tell you that this camera does not do any 'thinking' for you. Just because there are people in the picture doesn't mean the AF will lock onto them. It may lock onto the wall behind the people. If you want the people to be in focus, you must carefully choose the object you want to be in focus and then lock the focus by depressing the shutter button halfway. Then recompose your view and take to photo. I imagine that this will also effect the flash exposure. If the camera is focussing on the wall 5-10 feet behind the people, then it will expose the wall correctly and not the people. You may have to do some exposure compensation anyway to be sure it comes out the way you want it.

You can always double check if the AF is tracking your subject by looking at the distance gauge inside the finder. See if the distance shown in the finder is about the same as you subject is from you.

Hope this helps.

Mike
 
Richard,
I agree with Michael. I have no problem with focus other than operator error. Center your subject, depress and hold the focus lock, then recompose your photo and take your picture. My photos are generally in perfect focus, unless I mess up.

Good luck.

Howard
 
Hi RICHARD

Did you check out the following things? If there are no problem, you should send your G2 to your camera shop. (1) Is Forcus selecter on the back in SAF (or CAF)? (2) Does Distance indicator on the top of G2 indicate correct distance when you lock the focus using AF lock button on the back? (3) Does your Flash support TTL mode of Kyocera/CONTAX?
 
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